Mother's fury as son mysteriously 'burnt' after swimming pool session

Published on 5th April 2007 in News

A Howden woman was left furious earlier this week when her six-year-old son was rushed to hospital with what she believes are chemical burns following a swimming session at Goole Leisure Centre.

The mother, who does not wish to be named, was outraged when her young son returned home from Goole Leisure Centre, where he had been swimming with his aunt and grandmother on Tuesday, and began to develop a rash, which later caused him to cry uncontrollably and complain that he felt like he was "being stung by wasps."

The woman said: "My son came home at around 3pm, and his aunt told me that there had been quite a few small children in the pool, but that my son hadn't stayed in the pool for more than 20 minutes because the levels of chemicals seemed so strong.

"By 5pm he was complaining that his arms and legs were hurting. He said his whole body felt like it was burning, and he couldn't sit anywhere.

"He had sores on his back and there were little white spots on his face, just like he had been burned."

The family rushed the little boy to Goole Hospital, where it was agreed that he appeared to be burned, although the hospital could not confirm where the burns had come from. He was prescribed a course of anti-histamine, and advised to use calamine lotion to soothe the skin.

The woman added that she was "absolutely fuming" about the incident, and said she would not like what has happened to make her young son phobic about swimming in the future.

"I am certain that this was caused through Goole Leisure Centre, because my son had not been anywhere else that day.

"I have lost a lot of faith in Goole Leisure Centre."

* A spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council, which operates Goole Leisure Centre, told the Goole Times yesterday: "About 500 people used the pool on Tuesday, up until 5pm, and we are aware of no complaints.

"The pool is checked every two hours and samples showed everything was within the set limits on Tuesday. Our pool treatment system has been in place for a number of years, and nothing out of the ordinary took place yesterday at all."